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<h2>Creating questions for an assessment</h2>


<a name="topa"> </a>

 
<p><strong>Note:</strong> To complete these procedures, you must be
assigned a role having the necessary permissions.  To determine your
role, follow the directions in <a href="content.hlp?docId=arbu">Participant roles</a>.  For a basic understanding of roles and
permissions, see <a href="content.hlp?docId=arax">Permissions and roles: Overview</a>.</p>

<p>Creating questions is only one of the steps involved in creating an
assessment; see also:</p>

<ul><li><a href="content.hlp?docId=ardm">Creating a new assessment</a></li><li><a href="content.hlp?docId=arag">Assessment settings</a></li><li><a href="content.hlp?docId=argy">Types of questions available for assessments</a></li><li><a href="content.hlp?docId=arej">Adding, editing, moving, copying, or removing a question pool or subpool</a></li></ul>





<p>In the <a href="content.hlp?docId=arcc">menubar</a> of the relevant site,
click <strong><code>Tests
&amp; Quizzes</code></strong>. To create a new assessment, under the
"New Assessment" heading, type a name for your assessment in the 
"Create assessment (enter title)" field. </p>

<p>You can use the drop-down menu next to <strong><code>Choose Assessment type</code></strong>
to choose a template for your assessment. You can also import an
assessment; see <a href="content.hlp?docId=aqys">Importing or exporting assessments</a>.</p>

<p>When you have made your choices, you have two options to create the
assessment:</p>

<ul><li>The <strong><code>Create using markup text</code></strong> option allows you to
generate questions for your assessment by typing them in a particular
format or copying and pasting them from an appropriately formatted
text file.  Formatting instructions are available on the bottom of the
page under <strong><code>Instructions &amp; Examples</code></strong>, or in <a href="content.hlp?docId=azrq">Formatting questions with markup text</a>.  

<br /><br />
</li><li>The <strong><code>Create using assessment builder</code></strong> option takes you to
the question editor. To begin adding questions to a new assessment,
choose the type of question you want to add from the <strong><code>Add
Question:</code></strong> drop-down menu. Below are instructions for each
question type.

<br /><br />

<ul><li><a href="#multa">Multiple Choice</a></li><li><a href="#surveya">Survey</a></li><li><a href="#essaya">Short Answer/Essay</a></li><li><a href="#fiba">Fill in the Blank</a></li><li><a href="#numerica">Numeric Response</a></li><li><a href="#mata">Matching</a></li><li><a href="#truea">True/False</a></li><li><a href="#audioa">Audio Recording</a></li><li><a href="#filea">File Upload</a></li><li><a href="#uploada">Copy from Question Pool</a></li></ul></li></ul>

<a name="multa"> </a><h4>Multiple Choice</h4>

<p>To create a multiple choice question:</p>
<ol><li>In the <code>Questions</code> screen, from the <strong><code>Add
Question:</code></strong> drop-down menu, select <strong><code>Multiple Choice</code></strong>. This
takes you to the editing screen.  <br /><br />
</li><li>In the "Answer Point Value" field, enter the point value you want
to assign to this question. Enter <code>0</code> (zero) for an
ungraded question.  <br /><br />
</li><li>In the "Answer" section, choose between the following: 
<br /><br />
<ul><li><strong><code>Single correct</code></strong> (the default)</li><li><strong><code>Multiple Correct, Single Selection</code></strong></li><li><strong><code>Multiple Correct, Multiple Selection</code></strong></li></ul>
<br />
</li><li>To penalize students for incorrect answers, 
select <strong><code>Enable Negative Marking</code></strong>, and specify the negative point value
for incorrect answers.  (You can only use this option on questions with a 
single correct answer.)

<br /><br />
</li><li>To allow partial credit for incorrect answers (if available at your
institution), select <strong><code>Enable Partial
Credit</code></strong>. (You can only use this option on questions with a single
correct answer.)

<p><strong>Note:</strong> To remove negative marking or partial credit,
click <strong><code>Reset to Default Grading Logic</code></strong>; this will default back
to the single correct selection.</p>
</li><li>In the "Question Text" field, enter the text for the question. If
desired, click <strong><code>Show/Hide Rich-Text Editor</code></strong> to display the
rich-text toolbar.

<br /><br />
</li><li>To add an attachment, click <strong><code>Add Attachments</code></strong>
and enter or browse to a filename or enter a URL. 

<br /><br />

</li><li>You'll see four text boxes for possible answers.  To indicate the
correct answer(s), click the radio button (for single correct answers)
or check the boxes (for multiple correct answers) next to the answers.

<p>To present fewer possible answers, click <strong><code>Remove</code></strong> beneath
the boxes you want to remove. To present more possibilities, use the
drop-down menu next to <strong><code>Insert additional answers</code></strong> to select
the number of possibilities you want to add.</p>
</li><li>If you want the possible answers to appear in a random order,
under "Randomize Answers", click <strong><code>Yes</code></strong>. To have them appear in
the order you see in the question editing screen (the default), click
<strong><code>No</code></strong>.<br /><br />
</li><li>Under "Require Rationale", choose <strong><code>Yes</code></strong> or <strong><code>No</code></strong> (the
default). Choosing <strong><code>Yes</code></strong> requires students to provide a
rationale for choosing an answer.
<br /><br />
</li><li>From the <strong><code>Assign to Part</code></strong> drop-down menu, choose the part
(i.e., section) to which you want to assign this question. Leave this
as the default value if you haven't created any parts.<br /><br />
</li><li>To assign this question to a question pool, from the
<strong><code>Assign to question pool</code></strong> drop-down menu, select the desired
pool name.<br /><br />
</li><li>Under "Correct/Incorrect answer feedback", you can provide
question-level feedback for correct and/or incorrect answers. 
<br /><br />
</li><li>When you're finished, click <strong><code>Save</code></strong> to return to the
assessment editing screen. You'll see that your new question has been
added to the assessment.
</li></ol>

<p><a href="#topa">Back to top</a></p>

<a name="surveya"> </a><h4>Survey</h4>

<p>The process for creating a survey question is
similar to that used to create a multiple choice question, except for
the following differences:</p>
<ul><li>The "Answer Point Value" field default is <code>0</code>
(zero). <br /><br />

</li><li>For the text of possible answers, you must choose from a
predefined set of scales commonly used for survey reporting.  (Click
the corresponding radio button.) The choices are:<br /><br />

<ul><li><strong><code>Yes, No</code></strong></li><li><strong><code>Disagree, Agree</code></strong></li><li><strong><code>Disagree, Undecided, Agree</code></strong></li><li><strong><code>Below Average -&gt; Above Average</code></strong></li><li><strong><code>Strongly Disagree -&gt; Strongly Agree</code></strong></li><li><strong><code>Unacceptable -&gt; Excellent</code></strong></li><li><strong><code>1 -&gt; 5</code></strong></li><li><strong><code>1 -&gt; 10</code></strong></li></ul><br />
</li><li>You do not have the option to randomize answers or require a
rationale.
</li></ul>

<p><a href="#topa">Back to top</a></p>

<a name="essaya"> </a><h4>Short Answer/Essay</h4>

<p>To create a short answer/essay question:</p>

<ol><li>In the <code>Questions</code> screen, from the <strong><code>Add Question:</code></strong>
drop-down menu, select <strong><code>Short Answer/Essay</code></strong>.<br /><br />
</li><li>In the "Answer Point Value" field, enter the point value you want
to assign to this question. Enter <code>0</code> (zero) for an
ungraded question.<br /><br />
</li><li>In the "Question Text" field, enter the text for the
question. If desired, click <strong><code>Show/Hide Rich-Text Editor</code></strong> to display the
rich-text toolbar.

<br /><br />
</li><li>To add an attachment, click <strong><code>Add Attachments</code></strong>
and enter or browse to a filename or enter a URL.
<br /><br />
</li><li>From the <strong><code>Assign to Part</code></strong> drop-down menu, choose the part
(i.e., section) to which you want to assign this question. Leave this
as the default value if you haven't created any parts.<br /><br />
</li><li>To assign this question to a question pool, from the
<strong><code>Assign to question pool</code></strong> drop-down menu, select the desired
pool name.<br /><br />
</li><li>In the "Answer:" section, you can opt to provide question-level
feedback or a model short answer by typing it in the provided
fields.<br /><br />
</li><li>When you're finished, click <strong><code>Save</code></strong> to return to the
assessment editing screen. You'll see that your new question has been
added to the assessment.
</li></ol>

<p><a href="#topa">Back to top</a></p>

<a name="fiba"> </a><h4>Fill in the Blank</h4>

<p>To create a fill in the blank question:</p>
<ol><li>In the <code>Questions</code> screen, from the <strong><code>Add Question</code></strong>
drop-down menu, select <strong><code>Fill in the Blank</code></strong>.<br /><br />
</li><li>In the "Answer Point Value" field, enter the point value you want
to assign to this question. Enter <code>0</code> (zero) for an
ungraded question.


<p><strong>Note:</strong> The total points you assign will be
  divided among all the blanks in the question. For example, take the
  following question:</p>

<span class="example">  Polonius advises Laertes: "Neither a {borrower} nor a {lender} be".</span>

<p>If you assign 10 points to this question, students will get 5 points
each for filling in "borrower" and "lender".</p>


</li><li>In the "Question Text" field, enter the text for the question. If
desired, click <strong><code>Show/Hide Rich-Text Editor</code></strong> to display the
rich-text toolbar.

<p>Place curly braces (<code> { } </code>) around words
requiring a blank, for example:</p>

<span class="example">  In Unix, to find the current directory path, type {pwd} at the prompt.</span>

<p>Other options for building a Fill in the Blank question include:</p>

<ul><li><strong>Wildcards:</strong> Use an asterisk
(<code> * </code>) to represent one or more characters in a
response. For example:

<span class="example">An adverb, like {*ly}, modifies a verb.</span>
</li><li><strong>Either|Or:</strong> If two or more specific answers could
belong in a blank, you can use a pipe (<code> | </code>) to
separate them. For example:

<span class="example">  {red|yellow|blue} is an example of a primary color.</span>
</li><li><strong>Case sensitivity:</strong> Check <strong><code>Case sensitive</code></strong>
if case matters in the response. For example:

<span class="example">  The capital of California is {Sacramento}.</span>
</li><li><strong>Mutual exclusivity:</strong> Check <strong><code>Mutually
exclusive</code></strong> if your question has two or more blanks with identical
answer choices, but the student must answer each one differently. For
example:

<span class="example">  When you toss a coin, it lands on {heads|tails} or {heads|tails}.</span>

<p>If the answers are mutually exclusive, the student must type
"heads" in one blank and "tails" in the other to answer the question
correctly. If the answers were not mutually exclusive, then typing
"heads" in both blanks would be considered correct.</p>

<p>You can use the mutually exclusive option only when it applies to
all the blanks in a question. For example, take the following
question:</p>

<span class="example">  We mixed {red|blue} and {red|blue} dye together to make {purple}.</span>

<p>If you select the mutually exclusive option for the above question,
it will automatically uncheck itself when you save your question.</p>
</li></ul>
</li><li>To add an attachment, click <strong><code>Add Attachments</code></strong>
and enter or browse to a filename or enter a URL.
<br /><br />
</li><li>If your assessment has more than one part (i.e., section), use the
<strong><code>Assign to Part</code></strong> drop-down menu to assign the question to a specific
part.<br /><br />

</li><li>To save the question in a question pool for later use, from the
<strong><code>Assign to question pool</code></strong> drop-down menu, select the desired
pool name. To do this, you must have created at least one question
pool; see <a href="content.hlp?docId=arej">Adding, editing, moving, copying, or removing a question pool or subpool</a>.<br /><br />
</li><li>The "Correct/Incorrect answer feedback" fields allow you to set
optional messages for students. Use the assessment's feedback settings
to determine if and when students see these messages. See <a href="content.hlp?docId=arag">Assessment settings</a>.<br /><br />
</li><li>When you're finished, click <strong><code>Save</code></strong> to return to the
<code>Questions</code> screen. You'll see that your new question has been
added to the assessment.
</li></ol>

<p><a href="#topa">Back to top</a></p>

<a name="numerica"> </a><h4>Numeric Response</h4>

<p>To create a numeric response question:</p>

<ol><li>In the <code>Questions</code> screen, from the <strong><code>Add
Question:</code></strong> drop-down menu, select <strong><code>Numeric
Response</code></strong>.<br /><br />
</li><li>In the "Answer Point Value" field, enter the point value you want
to assign to this question. Enter <code>0</code> (zero) for an
ungraded question.<br /><br />
</li><li>In the "Question Text" field, enter the text for the question.
If desired, click <strong><code>Show/Hide Rich-Text Editor</code></strong> to display the rich-text
toolbar. 

<p>Place curly braces (<code> { } </code>) around
characters requiring a blank, for example:</p>

<span class="example">  4*4={16}</span>

<p>Insert a pipe (<code> | </code>) between range limit values,
for example:</p>

<span class="example">  The tree's age is {121|145} years.</span>

<p>Every value between 121 and 145 will be a valid response.</p>
</li><li>To add an attachment, click <strong><code>Add Attachments</code></strong>
and enter or browse to a filename or enter a URL.
<br /><br />
</li><li>From the <strong><code>Assign to Part</code></strong> drop-down menu, choose the part
(i.e., section) to which you want to assign this question. Leave this
as the default value if you haven't created any parts.<br /><br />
</li><li>To assign this question to a question pool, from the
<strong><code>Assign to question pool</code></strong> drop-down menu, select the desired
pool name.<br /><br />
</li><li>Under "Correct/Incorrect answer feedback", you can choose to
provide question-level feedback.  <br /><br />
</li><li>Click <strong><code>Save</code></strong> to return to the <code>Questions</code>
screen. You'll see that your new question has been added to the
assessment.</li></ol>

<p><a href="#topa">Back to top</a></p>

<a name="mata"> </a><h4>Matching</h4>

<p><strong>Note:</strong> In matching questions, students will see a numbered
list of items, called "choices"; for each choice, they must select from the
options in a corresponding drop-down list, called "matches".</p>


<p>To create a matching question:</p>

<ol><li>In the <code>Questions</code> screen, from the <strong><code>Add Question:</code></strong>
drop-down menu, select <strong><code>Matching</code></strong>.

<br /><br />
</li><li>In the "Answer Point Value" field, enter the point value you want
to assign to this question. Enter <code>0</code> (zero) for an
ungraded question.

<br /><br />
</li><li>In the "Question Text" field, enter the text for the question. If
desired, click <strong><code>Show/Hide Rich-Text Editor</code></strong> to display the
rich-text toolbar.

<br /><br />
</li><li>To add an attachment, click <strong><code>Add Attachments</code></strong>
and enter or browse to a filename or enter a URL.
<br /><br />
</li><li>Under "Add/Edit Pairing and Optional Feedback", you may:

<br /><br />

<ul><li>Use the "Choice" and "Match" text fields to create a correct pair,
then click <strong><code>Save Pairing</code></strong>.
</li><li>Remove or edit any of the pairs you've created using the
<strong><code>Remove</code></strong> and <strong><code>Edit</code></strong> links next to each pair. </li></ul>


<p>You can add as many choices and matches as you like before proceeding.  In the
test, choices  will be presented in the 
order in which you author them; there is no way to change the order.</p>
</li><li>From the <strong><code>Assign to Part</code></strong> drop-down menu, choose the part
(i.e., section) to which you want to assign this question. Leave this
as the default value if you haven't created any parts.

<br /><br />
</li><li>To assign this question to a question pool, from the
<strong><code>Assign to question pool</code></strong> drop-down menu, select the desired
pool name.

<br /><br />
</li><li>Under "Correct/Incorrect answer feedback", you can choose to
provide question-level feedback.  

<br /><br />
</li><li>Click <strong><code>Save</code></strong> to return to the <code>Questions</code>
screen. You'll see that your new question has been added to the
assessment.</li></ol>

<p><a href="#topa">Back to top</a></p>

<a name="truea"> </a><h4>True/False</h4>

<p>To create a true/false question:</p>
<ol><li>In the <code>Questions</code> screen, from the <strong><code>Add
Question:</code></strong> drop-down menu, select <strong><code>True False</code></strong>.

<br /><br />
</li><li>In the "Answer Point Value" field, enter the point value you want
to assign to this question. Enter <code>0</code> (zero) for an
ungraded question.

<br /><br />
</li><li>In the "Negative point value for incorrect answer selection"
field, you can specify a negative point value to penalize students for
incorrect answers. The default value of this field is <code>0</code>
(zero).  

<br /><br />
</li><li>In the "Question Text" field, enter the text for the
question. If desired, click <strong><code>Show/Hide Rich-Text Editor</code></strong> to display the
rich-text toolbar.

<br /><br />
</li><li>To add an attachment, click <strong><code>Add Attachments</code></strong>
and enter or browse to a filename or enter a URL.

<br /><br />
</li><li>In the "Answer" field, select either <strong><code>True</code></strong> or
<strong><code>False</code></strong>.

<br /><br />
</li><li>Under "Required Rationale", you can choose to require an
explanation by clicking <strong><code>Yes</code></strong>.

<br /><br />
</li><li>From the <strong><code>Assign to Part</code></strong> drop-down menu, choose the part
(i.e., section) to which you want to assign this question. Leave this
as the default if you haven't created any parts.

<br /><br />
</li><li>To assign this question to a question pool, from the
<strong><code>Assign to question pool</code></strong> drop-down menu, select the desired
pool name.

<br /><br />
</li><li>In the "Correct answer (optional)" and "Incorrect answer
(optional)" fields, you can offer answer-level feedback.

<br /><br />
</li><li>When you're finished, click <strong><code>Save</code></strong> to return to the
<code>Questions</code> screen. You'll see that your new question has been
added to the assessment, along with radio buttons for selecting the
correct response.
</li></ol>

<p><a href="#topa">Back to top</a></p>

<a name="audioa"> </a><h4>Audio Recording</h4>

<p>To create an audio recording question:</p>

<ol><li>In the <code>Questions</code> screen, from the <strong><code>Add Question:</code></strong> drop-down
menu, select <strong><code>Audio Recording</code></strong>.

<br /><br />
</li><li>In the "Answer Point Value" field, enter the point value you want
to assign to this question. Enter <code>0</code> (zero) for an
ungraded question.

<br /><br />
</li><li>In the "Question Text" field, enter the text for the question. If
desired, click <strong><code>Show/Hide Rich-Text Editor</code></strong> to display the
rich-text toolbar.

<br /><br />
</li><li>To add an attachment, click <strong><code>Add Attachments</code></strong>
and enter or browse to a filename or enter a URL.

<br /><br />
</li><li>Next to "Time allowed (seconds):", enter the number of seconds the
student can take to record the answer.  

<br /><br />
</li><li>Next to "Number of attempts:", choose the number of times a
student can re-record the answer from the drop-down menu.  

<br /><br />
</li><li>From the <strong><code>Assign to Part</code></strong> drop-down menu, choose the part (i.e.,
section) to which you want to assign this question. Leave this as the
default value if you haven't created any parts.

<br /><br />
</li><li>To assign this question to a question pool, from the
<strong><code>Assign to question pool</code></strong> drop-down menu, select the desired
pool name.

<br /><br />
</li><li>Under "Feedback (optional)", you can choose to
provide question-level feedback.  

<br /><br />
</li><li>Click <strong><code>Save</code></strong> to return to the <code>Questions</code>
screen. You'll see that your new question has been added to the
assessment.</li></ol>

<p><a href="#topa">Back to top</a></p>

<a name="filea"> </a><h4>File Upload</h4>

<p>To create a file upload question, which requires the user to upload
a file:</p>

<ol><li>In the <code>Questions</code> screen, from the <strong><code>Add
Question:</code></strong> drop-down menu, select <strong><code>File Upload</code></strong>.<br /><br />
</li><li>In the "Answer Point Value" field, enter the point value you want
to assign to this question. Enter <code>0</code> (zero) for an
ungraded question.  

<br /><br />
</li><li>In the "Question Text" field, enter the text for the question. If
desired, click <strong><code>Show/Hide Rich-Text Editor</code></strong> to display the
rich-text toolbar.

<br /><br />
</li><li>To add an attachment, click <strong><code>Add Attachments</code></strong>
and enter or browse to a filename or enter a URL.

<br /><br />
</li><li>From the <strong><code>Assign to Part</code></strong> drop-down menu, choose the part
(i.e., section) to which you want to assign this question. Leave this
as the default if you haven't created any parts.

<br /><br />
</li><li>To assign this question to a question pool, from the
<strong><code>Assign to question pool</code></strong> drop-down menu, select the desired
pool name.

<br /><br />
</li><li>In the "Feedback (optional)" field, you can offer question-level
feedback.

<br /><br />
</li><li>When you're finished, click <strong><code>Save</code></strong> to return to the
assessment editing screen. You'll see that your new question has been
added to the assessment, along with the <strong><code>Upload file</code></strong> icon.
</li></ol>

<p><a href="#topa">Back to top</a></p>

<a name="uploada"> </a><h4>Copy from Question Pool</h4>

<p>To copy a question from a question pool:
</p>

<ol><li>In the <code>Questions</code> screen, from the <strong><code>Add
Question:</code></strong> drop-down menu, select <strong><code>Copy from Question
Pool</code></strong>.

<br /><br />
</li><li>Click the name of the pool from which to import the question.

<br /><br />
</li><li>Navigate to a subpool and/or use the checkbox(es) to select
question(s) you wish to import into the current assessment, and then
click <strong><code>Copy</code></strong>.</li></ol>

<p><a href="#topa">Back to top</a></p>

<a name="demos"> </a> 






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